Bedside Manner
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "I was glad," he began quietly, averting his eyes from my own and onto the blanket he was steadily picking at. "I was glad that the first face I woke up to was yours. Part of me was almost glad that I got so badly injured because how else would I have seen you again? Godric, I was almost thankful for it, isn't that insane?"
1. Bedside Manner

St. Mungo's had never been so busy. All the reserve staff, all the trainee healers and even those that had gone on maternity leave, had turned up at the distress call the hospital had sent out. The moment Hogwarts had called for help, we all knew that those of us who had been trained in healing magic, could not take part in the battle. Instead, we knew that our role would be to heal those who had been injured in the fray.

Once the Ministry had fallen, the hospital had put a plan in place for this eventuality and it was quickly put into action. Dozens of healers were sent off to Hogwarts to take refuge in the Hospital Wing where they would be working on the frontline. Those of us that remained in the hospital, were working with _whoever_ was brought in through the doors. Because that was at the very core of our training, we all knew that we would have to heal even those we disliked.

And as I stared down at the masked death eater lying on the stretcher, I had to take a quick moment to push down the utter _hatred_ I felt for the man. I would have to ignore the visceral need to hex him and instead, I'd need to help get him into one of the rooms where he could be treated. _If_ there were any such rooms available, that was. Godric, the number of causalities that were being escorted out of Hogwarts and to the Hospital, always seemed to be increasing.

Once we managed to find a space for the _patient_ , I listened attentively to the orders that the senior healer was giving out and moved to fulfil them quickly. We worked hurriedly but made sure to do our best to heal the man in our care. It wouldn't do to have to spend _more_ time on him because of a mistake we'd made. No, the sooner we had him all patched up, the sooner we could move down the steadily growing list of patients.

Quickly I finished dressing the wounds of the patient who had to be knocked out after having woken up to discover that a muggleborn medi-witch was helping us. He had gotten angry, spouting foul abusive language at the witch who was only doing her best to heal him and he'd needed to be sedated. The witch had promptly burst into frustrated tears but still continued to help us, wiping her tears away and sniffling only once before concentrating on her work.

Finally finished with the patient that was lying on the bed, I only looked down, a little resigned when my magical pager went off again. I stared down at it and quickly made a note of the room number that briefly flashed on the screen and hurriedly made my way down to the floor below. The halls were packed with medical staff who were running to and from rooms, usually with arms full of extra gauze or gloves and this wasn't the first time that we were all cursing the hospital for the anti-apparition wards that had been placed on the building.

Just as I reached the stairwell, my hand froze on the bannister, eyes instantly drawn to the patient that had been brought in. The boy – barely a man, really – was suffering from a horrific head wound that had the healers struggling to slow the bleeding as they trailed after the stretcher. Godric, I swore I felt my heart stop before I forced myself into action.

I hurried quickly, grabbing a hold of one of the trainee healers that were trailing after the stretcher. He had been so focused on not losing sight of the patient – Merlin, what had Colin done to end up in such a state – that he physically started at my touch. We exchanged very few words before he was hurrying to take my place and I rushed after the stretcher that was about to disappear from view. Ducking into the room, I took my place beside the healer who would lead our small team.

"Terrell," Higgs said in surprise, casting a quick glance towards me before he approached an unconscious Colin, "what are you doing here?"

"Morgan and I switched places," I explained, rooting around for my wand and drawing it to my side in preparation.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he asked dubiously, voice lowered so that none of the staff around us could hear our exchange. "I know that the pair of you –"

"I'll be fine," I cut in gruffly as I looked pointedly towards him. "Now, are you going to tell us what to do, or not?"

Higgs searched my eyes for a moment longer, before shaking his head and turning back to Colin. He was back to business, barking out instructions that we all hurried to follow. I lost track of the number of spells that left my wand as I tried everything that could to stop the bleeding before something finally worked. Merlin, my wand hand was shaking slightly and I knew it was because of the fear pumping through me at the possibility that we just might not have been able to save him. But, not soon after, the medi-witch that had been monitoring his heart rate, declared it stable and normal.

It was only then that I let myself breathe easy, the tension in my chest dissipating as I watched him be wheeled out of the room and towards one of the observation rooms. Higgs stopped by my side for a moment, reaching out to squeeze my arm reassuringly.

"You did well," he said forcefully, making me meet his eyes. "Don't doubt that."

I could do nothing more than nod. Merlin, how was I supposed to explain that I'd never thought that the next time I saw Colin, would be with him lying on a hospital bed. Godric, if we hadn't been able to save him then –

That was too horrific to think about. My pager beeped again and unwillingly, I brushed Colin to the back of my mind and rushed towards my next patient.

* * *

Despite the battle of Hogwarts – as the Daily Prophet dubbed it – ending in the way we all wished it to, the hospital was still way too overcrowded. Some of the patients had been discharged last night but there were still the dozens that remained.

Every hour or so, the Aurors would arrive to see which of our patients that had been on the losing side of the battle, could be taken into their custody. No matter how many times they were turned away by the head healers who insisted that they were still too ill, they continued to return. Personally, I was more than a little worried that the Aurors and the head Healers were going to wind up duelling. But the question remained; who was capable of doing more damage? I had my money on the Healers.

Apart from the Aurors being unwelcoming nuisances that lingered in the halls, families of the patients had also flocked to the hospital to check with their own eyes that they had survived the battle. The staff had soon given up trying to restrict the number of family members allowed in a room and we had decided to be accommodating. It wasn't every day that we treated victims of war.

As I made my rounds around the hospital to check on the patients on my list, I was occasionally stopped by such well-meaning family members that wanted to know when their loved one could go home. They, however, more often than not, stopped being so polite when they found out that there was no definite answer to that; every person was different and there was no set time at which we could promise their return to immaculate health.

With my break time drawing near, I decided to visit one of the patients who weren't on my list. Walking through the hospital to Colin's room, I briefly wondered whether or not his family were still with him? Last night they had been reluctant to leave his room once they had found out what had happened to him. They were especially reluctant to leave because there was no guarantee that the Muggle government would give them a visa into the wizarding world again so soon. The Ministry was still restricting travel between the muggle and wizarding world, just until everything was sorted out.

It was for that reason that I had invited them to spend the night at my apartment and when I arrived at the hospital early in the morning, they had tagged along with me.

Knocking on the door of the room, I peeked my head in slightly so I wasn't disturbing them. But, I had managed to appear in the room when Colin was alone, still unconscious but we were confident that he would awaken soon. His parents had probably popped to the café to get something to eat. Merlin, it had been extremely hard to explain to his muggle parents that there simply wasn't a spell that could guarantee that he would awaken within seconds. His body needed to heal itself for now and all we could do was wait.

Closing the door quietly behind me, I walked into the room to perch on the chair beside his bed. Merlin, I still could not believe that he was here, lying helplessly in front of my eyes and there was absolutely nothing that I could do for him. It had been a year since I'd seen him. Since I'd left Hogwarts and despite all of the attempts that I could have made to see him – despite the attempts that _he_ had made to get into contact with me, I _hadn't_ contacted him. Godric, I hadn't so much as seen his face since my graduation and I just had the sheer horrendous luck of having yesterday be the first time.

He would have been in his sixth year, had his parents not taken him out of school, but somehow, he had managed to get back to the castle. Why had he done something so stupid? But of course, I knew the answer. He was 17; an adult in the eyes of the Ministry and fully capable of making his own decisions. And he'd decided to take such a _stupid_ one.

With a fretful sigh, I reached out to brush some hair off his forehead and let my eyes linger on his features. I wanted, more than anything, more than I'd ever wanted anything, for him to open those gentle golden-brown eyes of his. The moment he opened them, he was out of danger.

A knock on the door had me drawing my hand back to my lap and rising to my feet as I prepared to greet his parents. But it wasn't his parents who had returned to their son's side. Instead, it was a student who, because of Hogwarts's early closing this year, was able to visit her very best friend.

"Tamanna," I greeted my sister, a little surprised to see her. "Do mum and dad know you're here?"

"I told them," she insisted, stepping into the room and arranging the flowers she had brought with her in a vase on the bedside table. Staring down at Colin's peaceful face, she let out a shuddering breath and I watched her hesitantly as she, for once, let her face show just how _much_ and how deeply she felt for her best friend. And every time I saw that expression, I had to avert my own eyes a little guiltily. "So, what are you doing here?"

"He's on my rounds," I lied, watching as Tammi reached out to rearrange Colin's hair again, bringing it back down over his forehead. My fingers itched to push the hair back again but I curled my hands into fists inside the pockets of my white jacket.

"How's he doing?" She looked to me then, pleading for the truth. "Is there something wrong?"

"He'll pull through," I assured her with a smile. "He's strong."

"He'd better." Tammi sighed deeply, looking down at Colin again as she dragged a fingertip across the back of his hand. "Look after him for me?"

"I will," I promised, silently thinking that she hadn't needed to ask.

* * *

Every day, halfway through my daily rounds, I inevitably found my way back to Colin's hospital room and would take my space back beside his bed. His parents eventually had to return to the muggle world and as a result, his brother was the only member of his family in the wizarding world. Dennis was invited to stay at my parent's home until Colin awoke. Usually, I would return to Colin's room to find his brother sitting by his bedside and I'd give him some sort of update on his condition. But Dennis had been held back today, leaving his brother in my care.

As I settled in my chair, I looked at Colin and wished and wished that I could turn back time. There was no way that I could have _stopped_ him from getting hurt because I wouldn't be at the castle to stop it. But, I could at least have parted differently with him. Godric, it was all my fault that there was such a big chasm between us.

 _My final day at Hogwarts had arrived **much** sooner than I had thought possible. Merlin, it was as if the seven years had passed in the blink of an eye and just like that, I was being forcefully pushed into the adult world with no idea what I was going to do now. _

_Walking through the Great Hall, I quickly excused myself from my friends and headed towards the fifth year that had been waiting patiently to be acknowledged. My friends, taking one look at Colin, shared a meaningful glance that **thankfully** the younger boy didn't notice before heading on their merry way towards the common room._

 _"Let me walk you back?" he asked, gesturing towards the doors of the Great Hall._

 _I nodded, linking my arm through his and letting him escort me towards our common room. Colin, for as long as I had known him, always had this nervous habit of rambling on and on and **on** about anything and everything that he could think of. And he was doing it now. Merlin, I wasn't even sure what he was talking about – that was how little sense he made._

 _And, as we approached the stairs leading to the common room, I'd decided that enough was enough. "Colin," I called out firmly, making him stop midsentence. He looked towards me, eyes wide as if he hadn't been expecting me to talk at all. Godric, I couldn't help but smile. "You're rambling."_

 _"I'm not," he protested in a tone that suggested he knew otherwise._

 _"Colin, you keep talking about the same thing over and over again. Why are you hesitating?" Colin stopped walking then, swallowing hesitantly as he removed his arm from mine. He looked away from me, clearing his throat as he scanned the hallway around us and I took a faltering step away from him. I had a bad feeling about this._

 _All of a sudden, I **knew** without him telling me what this was about, what he wanted to talk to me about. But I prayed that he would rethink it and change his mind._

 _Godric, I knew about his crush. Of course, I did. I doubted that any girl in my place wouldn't have known the reason behind the blushes that Colin was prone to throwing my way and there was the jealousy that he tried his best – and failed – not to show. But it would all be fine. As long as the words didn't leave his mouth, as long as he didn't **say** it, then we would be fine. I wouldn't have to break his heart and ruin the friendship we had tentatively created through **his** friendship with my sister._

 _"Terrell, I –"_

 _"Colin," I pleaded and he listened, looking at me hesitantly. He bit his bottom lip, cautiously eyeing me and I clasped my fingers together. "Don't say it, Colin."_

 _"Wait, but –"_

 _"Don't say it, Colin. I know – I've always known – so you don't need to say it to me."_

 _His smile began to bloom as if he'd taken my words to mean something that I hadn't intended. As if he thought that his confession wasn't necessary because I knew how he felt and he didn't need to question whether I returned his feelings or not. Whether I did or didn't, wasn't important._

 _"I'm sorry Colin," I said quickly, looking away from him so I didn't have to see the way my words had his face clouding over. No matter how kind I tried to be, a rejection was still a rejection._

 _"I actually thought that maybe you liked me back," he said quietly, tucking his hands into his pocket and I swallowed thickly. Godric, he was making this more difficult than it needed to be. "Sometimes you look at me like – like the way I look at you. And, just – why?"_

 _Why? Well, that was a hell of a question. What answer was I supposed to give him when I knew just how stubborn he was capable of being. There was no way he would accept any of the answers that I would give him. But, as I saw the person walking towards him, I thought that she alone was the reason why. Regardless of what I felt for him, I would never hurt my sister for him. Never._

 _"Look, Colin," I said with a sigh as I turned towards the Fat Lady, "I'm sorry but I should get back to my friends. But I'll see you later?"_

 _I reached out to squeeze his arm before announcing the password to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and I headed inside. No doubt Colin wanted to follow after me, and maybe he would have if Tamanna hadn't appeared by his side to ask what he was doing._

If I had known that the next time I would see Colin, he would be on a stretcher, then I would have made an effort to see him again. Godric, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to avoid having to see him, to talk about what it was between us. I just needed him to wake up.

* * *

Early the next morning, before I began my rounds for the day, I dropped by Colin's room as I did every day. Walking inside, I headed straight for the window to open it slightly, knowing just how much Colin hated being in a stuffy room. Turning away from the window, I went to cross the room back towards the door before pausing mid-step. I could have sworn I heard … my name.

Looking hesitantly towards Colin's bed, I did my best not to get my hopes up. It wouldn't be the first time that I'd thought I heard Colin call my name, only for him to remain unconscious. Godric, I didn't know what I would do if my desperation for him to wake up, had me hearing things again. But still, that didn't stop me taking hesitant steps towards Colin's bedside.

I took another moment to steady myself before actually looking down at him. And Godric, those gentle eyes were staring right back at me as if he'd been waiting for me to notice that he was awake. Swallowing thickly, I looked over him in surprise, not knowing what to do first. Did I cry tears of sheer happiness or berate him for getting into the castle? Or did I just apologise for not seeing him since I had left Hogwarts?

Stepping away from the bed, I began to check over him properly as my healer training came to surface. Looking over him, I cast spell after spell to check over his vitals before planning to call the Healers to do the real checks.

He reached out then to catch my hand and I started at the contact. Looking down at him, I swallowed down my overbearing guilt and gently removed his hand from my own.

"I'll be right back Colin," I said quietly, reassuringly. "I promise, alright? I just need to get the Healers to look over you."

Colin held my eyes for a long moment, looking between them before nodding. Ducking out into the hallway, I hurried to find one of the more senior healers. Apprehending the first Healer I found, I quickly explained the situation and just like that, she was hurrying after me to check over Colin. I followed a short distance behind her and stopped by the medi-witches station to ask that Dennis Creevey be contacted to alert him to his brother's situation.

By the time I returned to Colin's room, I found his bed surrounded by a group of healers who were asking him questions and treating him all at the same time. Walking to his bedside, I nudged my way in between the more senior healers until I could take my usual seat. Colin, upon spying my approaching figure, turned his head to watch my approach. When I was seated, he raised his eyebrows silently.

With a sigh, I reached out to take his hand in both of mine. "I asked the staff to contact your brother. He'll be here soon so you won't be alone."

Colin opened his mouth to speak my name, but it came out as a croak from his dry throat. As the healers discussed what to do with Colin, I transfigured a glass from the pen I usually carried with me and cast a quick _aguamenti_. Helping him lift his head to drink the water, I watched patiently as he drank it all with greedy gulps until he was done. Once he was lying back down again, I waited for him to begin speaking.

"Have you been coming to see me every day?" I _really_ hadn't been expecting that to be the first thing he said.

"Of course, I have," I said quietly, nodding distantly when the Healers asked me to stay with him until he could be wheeled out for further scans. "I know you wouldn't have liked to be alone so I came to see you as often as I could."

Colin nodded, eyes roving over my face as if he was drinking the sight in. I just sat beside him, wondering whether he would say anything else to me and I wasn't certain that I knew what else I wanted him to say to me. Only – he didn't speak again. Not until the rest of the Healers had left the room.

Once we were left alone, I let out a deep sigh before admitting, "You have no idea how grateful I was to have you open your eyes again, Colin."

Colin smiled slightly at that, shifting his hand a little in my own so he could link our fingers together. Any other time maybe I would have pulled my hand away from his. But not right now. Now, I was so very thankful that he was looking back at me, that I did nothing more than tighten my hold on his hand.

* * *

Although Colin had woken again, he was kept in the hospital for a few more days to ensure that the Healers could run all the necessary scans to be certain that he was well enough to head home. Now that I knew Colin was awake, I had gradually reduced my visits to his room. I tried to rationalise it; I knew he was awake so there was no need to stand guard by his bedside. But Godric, it was still difficult to stop myself from dropping by his room whenever I found a spare moment. I strictly restricted myself to two visits; one in the morning when I arrived to work and one before I headed home for the day.

Preparing to sign out for the night, I allowed myself to succumb to the need to drop by to see Colin. Knocking on the door to warn him of my presence, I slid the door open only to hover in the doorway when I saw his family sitting around his bed. His parents had only recently been granted the travel visa again and I didn't want to intrude on the moment. But Colin, who was sitting up on the bed, looked instantly towards me and gestured me in. I shook my head silently, preparing to leave before his parents noticed me.

He wouldn't let that happen and called out to me instantly. His parents looked to the doorway, rising to greet me and thank me for everything I'd done. I just shuffled a little uncomfortably, insisting that I hadn't done anything at all.

When I managed to break free from his parents, I headed towards Colin's bed where he was sat watching my progress across the room. Merlin, sometimes it was so difficult to meet his eyes because I knew that if I tarried long enough then they would stop being thankful for my visit, and instead would become accusing as they tried to guilt me into admitting why I hadn't been visiting him so often.

Reaching his side, I still didn't meet his eyes as I slowly poured out the dosages of the potions he needed to take before settling in for the night. Once I was finished, I set the small vials aside on his bedside table and signed off the medical potions sheet in his patient file.

"Make sure you take all of the potions," I said firmly as I closed the folder and replaced it at the foot of his bed. "You already know to take the blue one _just_ before going to sleep because otherwise, you'll feel drowsy for a while."

Colin fidgeted on the bed, "Terrell, I –"

"Are the pillows uncomfortable?" I asked with a frown, walking around the bed until I reached his side. Finally raising my eyes to Colin's, I waited patiently and he just nodded in answer. "I'll just fix them for you."

My hands came around his head to adjust the pillows behind him, making sure to watch Colin's face for any signs of discomfort. But I found him already watching me and almost drew away when I realised just how insistent his eyes were; as if he was expecting me to disappear right before his very eyes.

"I think that's better," I said quietly, struggling to turn my eyes away from his. Recognising the retreat in my voice, and knowing that a physical retreat would surely follow, Colin reached up quickly to hold my wrists, keeping them bound by his pillow with his insistent grip. "Colin –"

"Don't go," he said so quietly that I knew there was no chance of his family hearing him.

"I'll be back in the morning," I promised. He searched my eyes as if looking for a lie and when he found none, he released me and let me pull away. Clearing my throat, I addressed his parents who were now watching me very differently. "Nothing of concern came up in any of his scan results so Colin just needs to take it easy and relax for a few weeks. I'll get going now."

I walked quickly out of the room, not wanting to tarry a moment longer. And I would have left quickly had Dennis not followed me out into the hallway, clearly wishing to speak to me.

"How are you doing Dennis?" I asked when it became obvious that he wasn't going to speak first.

"Grateful that he's awake," he said shortly before hesitating again. He cleared his throat, arms crossed over his chest as he started to speak defensively. "Speaking of Colin – I don't want him to get his hopes up again just because you've been hovering around his bedside."

"I'm not hovering," I protested, "I'm doing my job and caring for a patient in my ward."

"Does he know that?"

"Look, Dennis," I sighed, "I know you're trying to protect your brother but this isn't helping him in any way. I'm just doing my job and you could be a little co-operative by keeping an eye on him. From what I hear he'll be checking out of the hospital soon."

* * *

True to my words, within a few days, Colin was preparing to be discharged from the hospital. His parents had been alerted to the fact that he could go home and were planning on taking him away first thing tomorrow morning. And, as I checked over Colin for what would probably be the final time, I expected him to be relieved and thankful that soon he would be seeing something more than the same four walls all day every day. I told him as much but he'd just shaken his head, silently disagreeing with me. Colin was in a bit of a strange mood, one that was so different to how he normally was, that I decided not to question him and to instead let him think over whatever it was that was bugging him.

But, as I fixed his pillows to make sure that they were comfortable for the night, Colin just continued to look at me. His gaze was heavy on my face, as it always seemed to be lately, and I sighed, drawing away from him. Crossing my arms, I propped my hip against his bed so I could look down at him.

"What is it, Colin?" I coaxed gently, "What is it that you want to say to me? Just say it."

"I was glad," he began quietly, averting his eyes from my own and onto the blanket he was steadily picking at. "I was glad that the first face I woke up to was yours. Part of me was almost glad that I got so badly injured because how else would I have seen you again? Godric, I was almost thankful for it, isn't that insane?"

He looked to me then, as if expecting an answer. But how could I have given him an answer when his words had managed to successfully silence anything I could have possibly said. Merlin, I could have agreed with him that it _was_ insane that he was thankful, that he thought seeing me somehow justified his downright foolish decision or I could have tried to teach him that actually I really wasn't the woman he so stubbornly put on that bloody pedestal. I did none of that.

"I _did_ try to get over you," he insisted after a moment's silence. "I really did try my very best."

"Colin," I tried to cut in but he shook his head, silencing me in one go.

"No, I feel like I need to say this now because if I don't say it, then I might not get the chance to do it later. Merlin, it's been over a year since I last saw you. It took over a year for me to see you again. Why was that?"

Again, he was looking to me for some kind of answer. Except, I didn't have one to give him. I didn't have any answer that I could willingly give him. Godric, how was I supposed to tell him that I _did_ want to see him during the past year, that seeing him took up a large portion of my mind. He hadn't returned to school, my sister had told me as much, and I had just continued to worry over him, over his safety as I silently prayed to whoever listened to watch over him. The result of my prayers was seeing him on that stretcher.

Only after leaving Hogwarts did I realise what a big part of my life Colin had become in the five years we shared at school. Graduating from Hogwarts had removed the lie that I used to blindfold myself from the truth; I _wasn't_ just friends with Colin because he was my younger sister's best friend and I could no longer deny that to myself.

Realising that he was continuing to watch me, I just shook my head before reminding him, "You're going to be discharged tomorrow morning so you only need to spend one more night in this hospital bed."

"And I'll be back to not seeing you," he responded steadily. "That's the truth, isn't it? I doubt my parents will let me out of the house for a while and you definitely won't seek me out either."

"I'm busy with work," I protested feebly and he sighed, dropping his head back on the pillows as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Maybe I should do something to make sure that I have to stay here for a little longer?" he wondered aloud.

My eyebrows pulled together incredulously as I warned sharply, "Don't think about doing something stupid again, Colin Creevey. I had enough of a heart attack the first time I saw you in this hospital."

He didn't react to my words, not for a moment at least. But then he was lifting his head and meeting my eyes, his own gaze softening as he considered me for a long moment. Only, I was back to not looking at him. Instead, I studied the blanket and watched as his hand slowly approached my own as if to take it in his. Briefly, I considered pulling my hand out of his reach.

" _Colin!"_ The joyful call of his first name shattered the quiet air around us as we both looked to the doorway.

"Tammi," Colin said after clearing his throat and gesturing my sister into the room. Rolling my bottom lip into my mouth, I went to leave his side when Colin caught my hand and kept me where I was.

Tamanna for her part didn't even notice my presence as she began to talk Colin's ear off, fluttering around his bed as she fussed over him. Colin swatted away her hands with his free hand and insisted he was fine. Only when she had settled a bit, did Tammi look to me and I managed to free my hand from Colin's.

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be visiting?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I told mum and dad that I'd spend the night at your apartment," she confessed with a sheepish smile. "That is alright, isn't it?"

"Of course, it is," I assured her as I started to retreat from the room, ignoring the silent request Colin made for me to stay. "You've got half an hour before I come back to collect you and then we'll head home."

* * *

True to Colin's prediction, I hadn't seen him since he had been discharged from the hospital and each of my shifts seemed to drag on longer now that he had left. Now I didn't have a visit to his room at the end of the day to look forward to.

Instead, I'd return home exhausted after a most likely emotionally draining shift to an empty apartment. I had no reason to believe that today would be any different. But, the moment I stepped through the front door, I frowned a little when I realised that the lights were on. Briefly, I contemplated the idea that I had left the lights on when I'd left home. I only entertained the idea until I heard movement coming from the living room.

I drew my wand to my side and crept forward slowly to the room; my wards were supposed to be immaculate. There was no way someone should have been able to get in without my permission. Standing defensively in the doorway, my wand arm fell as a relieved sigh passed my lips at the sight of the girl settled on my sofa.

"Tamanna!" I instantly chastised, stepping into the room and settling onto the sofa beside her. "What have I told you about dropping by without telling me? What would you have done if I hexed you without bothering to check who you were?"

"You wouldn't have," she said confidently, swatting me with her hand. "You're not that trigger happy. But you _do_ look exhausted. Fancy a cup of tea?"

"Please," I said with a grateful smile, watching as she rose to her feet to head towards my kitchen.

I took the chance to duck into my bedroom and changed into my most comfortable pyjamas. Tying my hair haphazardly at the nape of my neck, I dragged my feet a little as I returned to the living room. By the time I was sitting on the sofa, Tammi was there with two mugs of tea cooling on the coffee table.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked, drawing my feet up onto the sofa before reaching for my mug. "Did you and mum get into another argument?"

"Nothing like that," my sister assured me, watching me from over the rim of her own mug. "I just need to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" I repeated a little dubiously. "Go ahead; what did you want to talk about?"

Tammi stared down into her mug for a moment before raising her eyes to mine. Drumming her fingers against the porcelain, she demanded, "You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"Of course I don't," I protested instantly, furrowing my brows a little. Replacing my tea on the table, I reached out to squeeze her arm gently. "What is this about?"

"That's obviously a lie or else you wouldn't think that I hadn't noticed how you felt about Colin," she insisted, her stare skewering me to my seat before I could shuffle guiltily in place. When I didn't deny her words – because how could I when she would see right through me? "All this time you tried to hide it so I would never find out, because _I_ had a crush on him, too. And don't even try to deny it. Merlin, don't you think it's time that I got over my one-sided crush?"

" _Tammi –_ "

"Come on! We both know that he's only ever liked you." This time she reached out to squeeze my hand. "Literally. For as long as he's been capable of liking girls in that way, he's liked _you_. No one else."

"What does that matter?" I shot back. "Do you really think that I'd be a bad enough sister to go after the boy that you like? Really? Especially when it's my baby sister and her best friend?"

Tammi rolled her eyes, tutting as she asked, "What about _you_? Do you think that _I'm_ that bad of a sister that I'd keep the two of you separated because of my silly little crush? Godric Colin, can you believe her?"

My eyes widened at the sound of his name and I looked to my sister in surprise. The devious brat was outright smirking at the blatant shock on my face. Holding my gaze, she gestured to the doorway where, when I looked, I found Colin hovering a little uncertainty as if he wasn't sure if he could come in. My mouth honest to God dropped as I looked between the two conspiring friends. When my eyes finally settled permanently on Colin, he took that as his cue to shuffle into the room.

"This wasn't my idea," he said quickly, gesturing towards my sister. "It was all her plan. She kidnapped me from home and told me to hang out in your kitchen until you came back. I promise."

Despite how utterly mortified I was, I looked towards my sister with a frown. "You always were the troublemaker of the pair of you."

"And this troublemaker is going to call it an early night," she announced, patting my thigh as she rose to her feet. "I'll be hogging your blankets if you need me."

I watched her as she walked out of the room, nudging Colin towards me as she passed him. Colin hesitated only for a second or two before he was crossing the room to take the space she had just occupied and I pulled my legs towards me when I realised how close he was.

"So," he started quietly as I started to play with my hands, staring down at my lap.

"So," I repeated, unwilling to look at him. He reached out then, taking my hand in his and linking our fingers together. Looking up at him with a smile that I couldn't have hidden if I wanted to, I met his gentle eyes. "Well, I'm mortified."

"Don't be," he assured me quietly, as his smile only grew. "Besides, just between the two of us, I've known about you since long before you graduated. You were just too stubborn to give in."


	2. Epilogue: 4 Years Later

_4 YEARS LATER_

Family weddings really weren't my sort of thing. Weddings in _general_ really weren't my thing. I wasn't sure why I didn't like them but I just didn't. I didn't enjoy going to weddings and yet, I attended almost every one that I had been invited to because someone had decided to share one of the most important days in their lives with me and how was I supposed to decline that offer? I was secretly a romantic at heart, or maybe not so secretly if you asked my boyfriend. Not that he could judge me either. Colin was _far_ more romantic than I was.

But, maybe one of the reasons I disliked weddings so much was because I hated having to get _ready_ for the weddings. I mean, I was capable of dressing presentably, of looking _good_ when I made the effort to do so, only it took me _forever_ to do it. I just had to leave myself plenty of time to get ready in time so why in Merlin's name was I currently running around like a headless chicken?

I knew the answer to that already and the culprit was sitting on our bed, dressed in his suit and smiling innocently at me as I struggled to put my stockings on. Colin was watching me with very obvious amusement as I jumped around the room, hiking the stockings up and pulling them until they were taught and settled on my upper thigh with a sticking charm. He had the _nerve_ to chuckle when I almost stumbled as I straightened out the stockings. Hiking down the dress that I had bunched around my waist, I adjusted it and turned my back towards Colin in silent question.

"I told you to call me two hours before we needed to leave!" I complained, watching from over my shoulder as he rose to his feet so he could zip up the back of my dress for me. He rose to his feet without a word and slowly zipped me up, dragging his hands down my arms until he reached my hands.

"I _did_ try," he insisted, entwining our fingers and propping his chin on my shoulder. After holding me close for a short moment, he eventually released me before returning to his space on the bed, as he continued to watch me get ready. "But you were looking over a patient case file."

A hastily muttered charm had my hair piled up neatly at the top of my head as I grumbled irritably, "You obviously didn't try hard enough."

Colin used to my frustrated outbursts, just shrugged and watched as I headed towards my dresser. I picked up the two pairs of earrings I had set aside, unsure of which one to wear. Pursing my lips, I looked between them before relenting and holding one of each pair up beside my face. Turning towards Colin, I raised an eyebrow.

"Which one?"

He looked between the two pairs and the furrow of his brows suggested that he didn't understand why I was fussing so much. I sort of doubted he could see the difference between both pairs. But I didn't need to cajole him any more before he pointed to the one I was holding on my left.

"Thanks," I said, quickly putting the earrings on as I stared into the mirror.

There was something missing. Ah, lipstick. Grabbing two red lipsticks, I silently held both up and through the mirror, I watched as Colin shook his head incredulously.

"They're both red!" he exclaimed.

"Please? Just help me make the decision?"

He rolled his eyes, gesturing towards the subtler red and I swiped it slowly over both of my lips to get the colour pay-out that I wanted. I did one final check to make sure that my makeup was perfect before looping back towards the bed where I had laid out my shoes. Colin, already knowing what I was going to ask him, silently took my arm and pulled me down beside him. I watched him with a small smile as he picked up my legs and draped them over his thighs. He pursed his mouth slightly as he grabbed the pair closest to him and struggled a little to put do up the small clasp on the shoes.

With a triumphant laugh, he gently nudged my feet off his thighs and onto the floor. Holding his hands out, Colin helped me to my feet and I grinned up into his face, winding my arms around his neck. He indulged me with a faux irritated grumble and wrapped his own arms around my waist.

"I'm sorry I've been a pain," I murmured as I held him close for a moment and leaned up to peck his lips.

"No need to apologise," he said leaning down to give me a gentler, longer kiss. "You've got a lot going on at the moment, I'm not surprised that you're not completely with it right now."

"You're actually perfect," I said with a shake of my head. Reluctantly drawing away from him, I laughed when he instantly pulled me back into his chest. "Come on Colin, we need to go before we're late."

"We can just apparate," he complained. "I feel like I haven't held you like this forever."

"Well we can't have the muggles spying us appearing from thin air," I reluctantly reminded him with a sigh. Reaching out to straighten his tie, I tried to think of other reasons for why we needed to leave the sanctity of our home to go to this wedding but I was struggling to. Colin wasn't wrong; we really hadn't seen each other _really_ for what seemed like forever. "At least we both have time off afterwards. We can go on holiday or something."

"Or just hang around in our pyjamas?" he suggested with a grin, nudging his nose against my own. "We can just take pictures and add them to the wall we have."

"You mean the wall of pictures _you_ have?"


End file.
